Ranchi: Tiger Shiva who was keeping unwell for the last four days passed away at Bhagwan Birsa Munda Zoo located at Ormanjhi of Ranchi.
Dr Praveen of Birsa Agriculture University who was looking after the treatment of the Tiger said that the blood tests have confirmed infection in kidney and lungs. Director of Birsa Zoo YK Das said that since Covid test kit was not available therefore the test could not be done. He said that Shiva passed away on Thursday night itself.
On Friday after the arrival of the kit his swab has been sent to IVRI Barelliey Uttar Pradesh to confirm whether he had Covid or not. He said that apart from the swab the blood samples and lungs have been also sent to the IVRI so that the extent of infection in the lungs can be determined. Further if not Covid what were the reasons for his death will be also determined by the tests.
Dr Praveen said that Shiva for the last three or four days was having high fever running upto 104 degrees. He said that though he had got better on Tuesday after medicines were given to him but on the other side he had stopped eating. He said that there is at present on concrete information regarding the symptoms of Covid in the animals.
A team of four doctors performed the postmortem of the Tiger after which his last rites were performed in the zoo itself. Shiva was born in 2011 I. Karnataka and in 2014 he was brought to Ranchi from Bannerghata Biological Park of Bengaluru to Ranchi Zoo.
The authorities of the Birsa Zoo had plans to send him to another zoo as part of animal exchange programme and in return wanted to bring a white tiger but the plans were but on back burner as his health declined. Tigers have been an average lifespan of 17-18 years but due to better food and care their life span increases by almost two years inside zoo.